Article October 31, 2005 Issue

Notes from Houston

In the days following Hurricane Katrina, Christian Scientists in the Houston area swung into action to help care for the many evacuees pouring into their state. Members of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Bellaire, Texas, had read of the deeply meaningful community work that CYNTHIA NEELY accomplished in Boston during her tenure last year as President of The Mother Church. And they asked Cindy to come to Houston to minister to the many people seeking comfort in such disruptive circumstances.

In Cindy's words, this "ministry on the ground" took shape minute by minute, day by day. The following excerpts from her journal give only a snapshot of the powerful spiritual encounters Cindy experienced before she, too, was evacuated ahead of Hurricane Rita.

This afternoon I arrived and attended the Christian Science service at the George R. Brown Convention Center. From the stories of rescues that I heard, I felt prompted to ponder the story of Nehemiah's rebuilding of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah chaps. 2—6). I found comfort, direction, and healing thoughts from this Scripture because even though Jerusalem lay in ruins, in the end, good was the outcome. I felt I was going to be in the spiritual rebuilding business during my stay in Texas.

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